Casimir I. Karl

Casimir I the Restorer (called "the innovator", Polish Kazimierz I. Karol Odnowiciel , Latin Casimirus Carolus restorer ; * 26. July 1016 , † 28. November 1058 in Poznan ) was the son of the Polish king Mieszko II Lambert. From its connection with the niece of Emperor Otto III. , the German Princess Richeza . Casimir was thus great-grandson of Emperor Otto II and cognate of the German nobility . He came from the male line of the dynasty of the later so-called Piast and was 1034-1058 Duke of Poland .

Life

Little is known about Kasimir's life and there are many contradictions in the sources. The father died in 1034, at that time Casimir was in Germany at the court of his uncle Hermann II , who later became Archbishop of Cologne . Casimir probably came back to Poland with his mother Richeza after the death of his father in order to take up his inheritance, but had to leave the country in 1037 under pressure from the opposition for Hungary , from where he went directly to the Reich .

What is certain is that from 1034 onwards, through the discharge of social tensions, through pagan reactions and through an elitist resistance to the centralizing politics of the monarchs, there was a rapid dissolution of the Polish state. Poland's material resources were exhausted by a rule based solely on robbery, tribute and the booty of its predecessors in office, and ever higher taxes and services for the upkeep of royal and ducal followers and standing armies had been squeezed from the population. The relentless missionary zeal of the rulers still encountered deeply rooted pagan rites and cults seven decades after Poland's “ baptism ” . In 1037/38 there was a reactionary, pagan uprising which put the young Christian church in Poland in danger and in the course of which the Bishop of Breslau had to flee; A pagan temple was built on a ruined section of the ramparts of the Wroclaw Castle.

Taking advantage of Poland's confused situation, the Bohemian Duke Břetislav I invaded the country in 1038 and devastated large areas of Greater Poland in conjunction with pagan Pomorans and Pruzzen . He captured the bones of St. Adalbert and other saints from Polish cathedrals, which were taken to Prague and thus provoked a permanent dispute between Bohemia and Poland; in addition, Silesia and Lesser Poland were annexed by Bohemia. The provinces of Pomerania and Mazovia became independent under their regional princes.

In the meantime, thanks to his mother's German family, Casimir had high recognition in the empire and the support of the Roman-German King Heinrich III. won. In the summer of 1041 at the latest, Kasimir moved with 500 imperial tank riders to the Oder border area, where he succeeded in taking a castle and from which he was able to gain a foothold step by step in the core Polish provinces of Lesser Poland and Greater Poland and Kujawia . To secure his actions he went about an alliance and close family bond with the Grand Duke of Kiev , Yaroslav "the Wise" , one by his sister Maria Dobroniega of Kiev married and his own youngest sister Gertrud with Yaroslav son Izyaslav I married. His other sister Richeza married the Hungarian heir to the throne Béla I for the same reason .

In 1046, Emperor Heinrich III. the Dukes Casimir I of Poland, Bretislav I of Bohemia and Zemuzil from Pomerania to Merseburg for an interview to settle the situation in the east. The obligation to pay tribute to Poland was re-established.

With the help of the Kiev Grand Duke, Casimir succeeded in 1047 in deposition of the Mazovian Prince Meczlaus (also Maso, Maslao ), who had previously tried to expand his rule to all of Poland. The recovery of Silesia from the Bohemians turned out to be more difficult: Since diplomatic attempts at Heinrich III, who has meanwhile been crowned emperor. and with Pope Leo IX. were unsuccessful, Casimir finally recaptured the area by force of arms in 1050. In 1054 he achieved the official recognition of this condition by the emperor and the Bohemian duke at the Quedlinburg court day . The condition, however, was an annual tribute from Poland to Bohemia for the possession of Silesia.

After all these wars, Casimir devoted himself to building up the state, the capital of which was now Krakow , as it was little destroyed in contrast to Gnesen and was strategically more favorable in terms of the alliances with Kiev and Hungary. Casimir restored the state and church institutions within Poland. These achievements have earned him the nickname of "innovator".

Casimir I died on November 28, 1058.

Marriage and offspring

Casimir married around 1041/42 Maria Dobronega Vladimirovna Princess of Kiev (* before 1012, † 1087), an illegitimate daughter of Vladimir I. Svyatoslavich , called Vladimir the Great, Grand Duke of Kiev (978/80 - 1015), who speaks Ukrainian - Orthodox Church is venerated as a saint .

Adult children

1. Bolesław II , called "Szczodry" (the generous) or "Śmiały" (the bold) from 1058 Duke of Poland, then King of Poland (1076-1079), (* 1042, † 1081) ⚭ v. 1069 Wyscheslawa Svyatoslawna a daughter of Svyatoslav II. Yaroslavich, Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev
   1. Mieszko Prince of Poland (* 1069, † 1088), ⚭ Eudoxia Isjaslawna, a daughter of Isjaslaw I. Jaroslawitsch, Grand Prince of Kiev (no children)
2. Władysław I. Herman , Duke of Poland (1080–1102), ancestor of the later Piasts
3. Mieszko (born April 16, 1045, † January 28, 1065).
4. Swatawa of Poland (* around 1048, † September 1, 1126), ⚭ 1062/62 Vratislav II Duke of Bohemia (1061-1085), King of Bohemia (1086-1092), († January 14, 1092)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In honor of Charlemagne , he was baptized Kasimir Karl. Casimir is a Slavic name and means the "peacemaker".
2. ↑ E. Mühle: Die Piasten p. 30 f.
3. ↑ E. Mühle: Die Piasten p. 32
4. ↑ E. Mühle: Die Piasten S. 33. The time is disputed in research, but lies between the late summer of 1039 and the summer of 1041.
5. ↑ E. Mühle: Die Piasten p. 33
6. ↑ often reproduced with Siemomysl in Polish literature
7. ↑ E. Mühle: Die Piasten p. 33
8. ↑ Historical Commission for Silesia (ed.): Geschichte Schlesiens , Vol. 1, p. 104
9. ↑ European Family Tables , New Series, Volume II, Plate 120; Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg, 1984
10. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands [1]

literature

• Eduard Mühle : The Piasts. Poland in the Middle Ages , Verlag CH Beck oHG, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-61137-7 .
• Historical Commission for Silesia (Ed.): Geschichte Schlesiens , Vol. 1, Brentano-Verlag Stuttgart, 3rd edition 1961.

Web links

Commons : Casimir I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Mieszko II. Lambert	Duke of Poland 1034-1058	Bolesław II.